Toxins could be hiding in your home under the guise of cleaning products. If you’re like most of us, you’ve probably got a cupboard full of special products to clean your kitchen.
We buy these products to fight germs, streaks, stains, and odours to keep our homes sparkling clean. Cleaning is supposed to be about maintaining a healthy home, yet some common kitchen cleaning products contain chemicals that can harm human health and the environment. Most of us are exposed to cleaning products and their residues at low levels on a daily basis. This can’t be a good thing.
If you’ve decided that you’d like to rid your kitchen of these toxins you’ve made a great first step. The next step is to figure out what you’ll use to clean your kitchen.
The good news is that you can make your own cleaning products. This is super easy and inexpensive (bonus). To get you started we’ve put together some suggestions for you.
Clean Your Dishwasher
Fill a dishwasher safe bowl with 2 cups vinegar. Set it on the top rack of your dishwasher. Run through on a hot cycle. That musty odour will vanish as will the scum.
Air Freshener
Forget those chemical emitting plug-ins and aerosol sprays. Instead fill a saucepan with 1 liter water. Add 1 sliced lemon, 2 Tbsp. rosemary (so fragrant) and a dab of vanilla. Let it simmer gently until the water is almost evaporated. You can use many combinations of fruit and herbs.
Grout Cleaner
Have grout in your kitchen that needs a good cleaning? Mix ½ cup baking soda, ⅓ cup lemon juice, ¼ cup vinegar and 6 cups of water in a spray bottle. Spray and let soak in for 10 minutes, then scrub. You’ll be amazed at how great this works.
Scouring Cleanser
Mix 1 Tbs. dish soap, ¼ cup baking soda and a little white vinegar to form a paste and then scrub. This mixture will leave your pots, pans and bakeware sparkling.
All Purpose Cleaner
Mix ½ cup white vinegar, 1½ water and 10 drops of tea tree oil together in a spray bottle. This can be used on all surfaces. For windows, omit the tea tree oil and add ¼ cup lemon juice.
We hope you find these suggestions useful. They’re only a start. From now on stock up on vinegar, lemon and baking soda. Take this step and simplify your life. You’ll also free up some valuable cupboard space when you ditch commercial cleaning products. You’ll feel good knowing you’re ridding your kitchen of cleaning product toxins.